If you’re getting frustrated with your dog – and it’s common if you have a dog who has a personality prone to being fearful of things – my new book offers solutions.
“Oh Gus,” I sighed.
I had set up a tiny Rally course in the hall. Gus can do all the exercises, so I wasn’t expecting problems. But the small paper signs on the floor had him stumped. He dug all four paws in and refused to go near them.
He has walked, run and scampered up and down that hall quite happily around a zillion times before – but this one tiny change was obviously the work of the devil.
I was frustrated. My dog trainer brain told me to take plenty of time to help him get used to the signs and then we could do the course – but my human brain had planned this 15 minute slot to complete the task. And my human brain also derided Gus for his fear – after all, it was just a few bits of paper. The result?
Frustration
Do you get frustrated with your dog?
It’s normal. And common, if you have a dog who has a personality prone to being fearful of things.
The answer is to allow more time – for everything. But that’s not always easy.
Whether remembering and planning for problems ahead of time, or to change your behaviour in response to your dog when they show a fear response, it’s difficult to change our own internal plans and expectations.
One of our clients had a similar problem recently. Her dog is fearful of things, too. She set out for her planned walk. As she turned a corner, she saw her dog start to show signs of increased arousal but did not change her own plan. She carried on – only for a variety of things to happen and her dog reacted.
As she said later, “I should have stopped or turned back, but I’d planned that particular walk, so I didn’t.”
Both she and I berated ourselves after these events for not doing what we realised we should have done.
Be more accepting
But that’s pointless too. It’s easy to beat yourself up about things that go wrong in your life.
Instead, accept the thing happened – and use the experience to help you think about what you could do differently next time. For example, I will make sure I do two things – train Gus to be comfortable with bits of paper spread on the floor in the hall and second, give myself far more time when I next try to film a Rally round there.
Our client is going to plan to respond immediately as soon as her dog shows signs of arousal by either stopping and seeing if her dog will calm down or using the opportunity to do some helpful training, or turning round and going back or walking a different path instead.
Experiences we have in life are all about learning.
My new book can help you become a dog trainer
My new book, Doggy Doctor Surgery Secrets, tells my story about how working as a doctor helped me become The Doggy Doctor. The experiences I’ve had make me uniquely positioned to help others wanting to become dog trainers by sharing how my learning can help people build their knowledge, confidence and skills to become effective, empathetic teachers in their own right.
I’m really proud of the book.
I tell the stories about how two problem dogs were the catalyst for me becoming a dog behaviourist. This is what one reader said: “The first section tugged on my heart strings and my dog ended up with a number of hugs as Carol opened up old memories.”
There’s loads more, of course. If you’d like to find out more about the book and have the chance to win a free copy, why not join me at the FREE online launch event on Thursday 28th January? Bring your friends too!
Doggy Doctor Surgery Secrets will also be available for pre-order, with copies being distributed from 29th January.
The launch will also feature a fun quiz and much more.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
